Fifth Troy teen, third football player, charged in assault

Another player from Troy’s state championship runner-up football team was arrested in connection with a June 27 gang assault that sent two Catholic Central teens to the hospital. Tyrek Brace, 18, an incoming senior at Troy High, surrendered to police at 2:25 p.m. Monday and was charged with two counts of gang assault, Troy police Capt. John Cooney said.

Brace, of 4 Phelan Court, is the fifth teen and third Troy football player to be arrested in the assault near Elmwood Cemetery that broke the jaw of one 18-year-old Catholic Central student and left another 17-year-old student unconscious.

Brace is listed as a 5-foot-9, 160-pound cornerback and wide receiver on last year’s Troy football roster. On July 11, Times Union 2010 first-team linebacker Stephaun Grinage surrendered on the same charges as Brace. Grinage, 16, said he was innocent.

“He didn’t do it,” Grinage’s attorney, Arthur Frost, said after Grinage pled not guilty at his arraignment. “He didn’t do anything.”

Brace entered a not guilty plea at his arraignment Tuesday in Troy City Court and was released on an unknown amount of bail, Cooney said. Brace is considered to be a primary suspect in the assault, Cooney said. Witnesses and police said the brawl involved up to 25 people.

Patrick Chamberlain, 16, and considered a candidate to start at quarterback for Troy this season, and Chris Sandercox, 18, were arrested on gang assault charges after they turned themselves in on July 8. Both entered not guilty pleas at their arraignments and were released on bail.

Vincent Uzzo was the first teen charged in the attack. Uzzo, 16, was charged with gang assault and assault for reportedly striking the 18-year-old Catholic Central student in the face with a 3-foot-long tree branch, sparking the brawl.

Brace and Uzzo were both arrested days before the assault for reportedly breaking into cars in East Greenbush and stealing electronic devices. Brace, Uzzo and two other teens were charged with petit larceny, conspiracy and criminal possession of stolen property after police said they found them with stolen property at 3:50 a.m. on June 24 near the intersection of Cedar Crest Drive and Third Avenue.

At the time of the arrest, police said Brace was hiding behind a woodshed on Cedar Crest Drive and the other three teens were sitting in a car. The teens admitted to a stealing a GPS, an iPod and other electronics from vehicles, police said.

Cooney said police have conducted dozen of interviews with witnesses of the assault, adding that the investigation is winding down, but that there may be additional arrests.

According to a statement by the 18-year-old assault victim, the attack occurred during a party in the woods near the cemetery where there were about 40 people drinking by a large fire. The victim said he, the other victim and two female friends from Troy High stayed for two hours and then began to leave when they were stopped by a group of 25 teens at the exit.

“The next thing I knew Vinny Uzzo was off to my left and hit me with a log about 3 or 4 feet long,” according to the victim’s statement. “He hit me across the face and I immediately fell to the ground. I covered my face up and multiple people started to punch and kick me.

“I’m not even sure how I got out of the middle of it,” the statement said. “The only thing I know for sure is who hit me with the log and it was Vinny Uzzo from Troy High.”

A statement from Sandercox implicated Uzzo and Grinage in the assault.

“I saw Vinny Uzzo swing at someone who I think was (a 17-year-old Catholic Central student),” Sandercox said in the statement. ”I saw Stephaun Grinage hit (the 17-year-old) also. Then (the 18-year-old) took a swing at me and missed, so I hit him in the shoulder then we both tripped over a tree. We were both on the ground.”

Sandercox went on to tell police that he was punched in the head when the scene quickly turned into a large pile of teens fighting on the ground.

Troy’s football team ended its 2010 season ranked No. 3 in the state after losing to Rush-Henrietta, Monroe County, in the Class AA state championship game, 40-28, its only loss of the season.

17 Responses

I truly hope these punks pay the price. They caused severe injuries to two individuals in this ruthless gang attack. Sorry Mom and Dad – but you did a pretty bad job raising these monsters. If these kids, who hopefully will be in jail, are allowed to play football this fall I will personally go protest at their high school during each game.

Breaking into cars, violent beating yup they sound like children to be so proud of! oh but wait they play football , puff the chest parent’s puff the chest. the thing is how many kids turned away and did nothing? how stomach wrenching it must have been to watch and yet they did nothing..

Any of these kids involved should have the book thrown at them. As a parent, I WOULDN’T ALLOW one ounce of freedom if it were my kids, including sports. Obviously having freedom and privileges didn’t work because they beat the living daylights out of some kid when they had it. They would be spending their free time volunteering and trying to repent for their actions.

I hope they throw the book at all of these young criminals. Their parents must be so proud. I can’t help but smile at the sentence-He didn’t do it. He didn’t do anything-typical defense attorney statement.

Word on the street is that the AD is taking the position that the kids are innocent until proven guilty. A final dispo in this case will not come before the season is over; looks like they’ll be playing this fall. They are attending the summer weight trainings (lifting footballs) and apparently they have yet to “bring shame and embarassment” to the school name, so no suspension is in order. Jeez, seems like three players arrested for multiple felonies is a pretty good amount of shame and embarassment to the school. Throw them off the team, now!

What these kids did was wrong no question.
But stop with the Troy High remarks
the CCHS kids are no angels either, under age drinking, trespassing
Bet their parents didn’t know where they were either.
Why were they not ticketed? for under aged drinking or trespassing.
Why were they not punished, one was back on his baseball team a few days later.
and speaking of sports why is Troy Football being hammered?
only three out of the 60+ kids that play Troy High football are in this mess, the two that started this were baseball players not football.
People need to learn the full story before writing comments.

the parents of all the kids that play “other” sports at troy high and who sign onto to athletic code of conduct along with the players are waiting for a statement from the A.D. and/or new superintendent about the suspension of these players. what are you waiting for??

No one has said that kids who go to CCHS are angels,they are kids. Why weren’t they ticketed for underage drinking? Simple answer, they weren’t drinking. I am sure that their parents aren’t happy that they were in the cemetery that night but their main concern soon became the horrific injuries they sustained when assaulted by a group. This was not a fight between teenagers,this was an assault. Some of these kids arrested were at a concert in Saratoga last Wednesday night. What are parents thinking? This has nothing to do with THS football, however, I certainly hope that sitting out a football season doesn’t seem like too harsh a punishment for such horrible violence.

#5 we do in in the USA right?
Are we not all innocent until proven guilty.
If so why shouldn’t these KIDS play sports until proven quilty?
Then they should be taken off the team.
The shame here is comments like yours saying these kids are quilty before having their time in court.

#8 I love you grown ups, the CCHS kids at a drinking party for over two hours and they were not drinking, serious?
Again when and if they are proven quilty – then we will bad mouth them. Remember we live in the USA

I simply cannot believe some of the moronic comments here implying if the two severly beaten boys had been drinking they are just as guilty. You simply cannot compare the 2 offenses. Like comparing jay-walking to robbing a bank. Felony gang assault and underage drinking are not even remotely on the same radar screen. For anyone to imply all are at fault because even the injured may have been drinking is about as moronic as it gets. Sorry – you can go to jail to 15 years for felony gang assault.

I would also urge all to call the Principal at Troy High, Mr Joseph Mariano, 328-5401, and inquire if these boys are going to be allowed to play football this season.

I think he needs to be informed of the outrage the community will feel if these boys are allowed to play football. You can say with certainty that these boys have already broke a Code-of-Conduct for any athletic program.

#9/10 Yes, it is possible to be at a party and not drink as their BAL taken in the ER at St Mary’s Hospital has proven. I can’t say for certain what the Troy HS code of conduct says because “coincidently/conveniently” that link from the school website is not working. Our school code says something like ” Student participation in extracurricular/interscholastic activities is a privilege not a right. Student’s must conduct themselves as responsible young adults displaying courtesy, cooperation and honesty while refraining from acts of behavior and/or language that are incompatible with the purpose, goals and mission of our school.” #5 is ABSOLUTELY CORRECT,the allegations and charges of a gang assult are more than enough to have brought shame and embarassment to THS. Everyone, but especially Troy High students themselves, should be demanding that there be accountability with prominent athletes held to the same standards.

Call me crazy but if you’re “out on bail”,the privilege to represent your school in ANY event should be forfeited. Keep in mind that if they couldn’t make bail, they’d be in jail and there wouldn’t be any debate about if they should be allowed to play or not. Don’t hold your breath waiting for their parents to do the right thing. Attending concerts at SPAC with pending criminal charges is just moronic.

in the usa we are not savage beast and in the usa we should not just sit and watch or do nothing while someone is getting a severe beating! amazing that all these kids did nothing they just accepted this as normal. only in the usa!

Oh look, Uzzo has violated his probation (for punching a kid in school Sept 19), talked back to the Judge, and now sits in jail for the weekend, where he SHOULD have been the first time for breaking that kids jaw. Glad he’ll miss homecoming, he doesn’t deserve to even be in attendance. This is what a cocky and “tough guy” mentality get you.